New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has demolished 543 properties and sealed 178 others in a 17-day enforcement drive launched after the deadly
collapse of a PG building in Satya Niketan.
Between September 6 and September 23, the civic body also issued 354 show-cause notices for unauthorised construction, according to a compliance affidavit filed by the MCD before the Delhi High Court on September 24.
The action followed the court’s directions after Property No. 14 in Satya Niketan collapsed on the afternoon of September 6. During the same period, the MCD issued 205 sealing show-cause notices and 98 demolition orders as part of its intensified crackdown on unauthorised construction and misuse of buildings.
Building had no sanctioned plan
The collapsed building had no sanctioned building plan on record with the MCD, according to the civic body’s affidavit. The structure was built in different phases. The ground, first and second floors and part of the third floor were constructed between 1970 and 1980 while the basement and the remaining portion of the third floor were added in 1997-98.
The building was load-bearing with walls measuring only 4.5 inches in thickness and no reinforced cement concrete frame. The MCD said it had not received any complaint against the property since 2001, even though shops operated on the ground floor and a PG hostel had been functioning above them since 2007.
101 PG properties found in Satya Niketan
An inspection of 300 properties in Satya Niketan found PG accommodation operating in 101 buildings. Three properties, numbered 74, 75 and 76 were declared structurally dangerous. Their owners have obtained a court stay against the notices.
Another 10 properties were found to be vulnerable and have been directed to undergo structural audits by experts from IIT or Delhi Technological University within 10 days.
The MCD’s survey also found that the issue extends beyond Satya Niketan across Delhi’s 12 zones, 2,453 PG buildings were identified, housing around 50,529 people in 32,247 rooms. Only 730 of these buildings had verified sanctioned building plans.
The civic body said four buildings had been declared dangerous while 30 required major repairs and 91 needed minor repairs. Another 85 properties were placed under close monitoring.
Officials suspended after collapse
The MCD also surveyed nearly four lakh properties across 670 colonies for commercial misuse of residential buildings and found more than 21,000 violations. Five MCD officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of the South Zone and a Junior Engineer were suspended within a day of the Satya Niketan collapse.
A magisterial inquiry ordered by the Delhi government is currently underway. The MCD said further departmental action would be taken after the inquiry is completed.
